Lost
by annaliesegrace
Summary: An op gone wrong strands Riley and Gabriel in the wilderness, where in the silence, secrets are revealed. G/R
1. Chapter 1

AN: Welcome all to my probably one and only Intelligence fic. Is anyone even reading these anymore? I started this last May, before CBS gave the show the axe (seriously we get Stalker over this? For shame CBS), stopping writing because…motivation. But recently I was going through my writing flash drive and stumbled upon it once again. It was more than half done, I figured what the hell so I finished it and am now posting. Possibly to an audience of no one but you never know.

I have taken some liberities with how Gabriels chip works. This will be done in three chapters. All are written, I'm just editing now and should have the next up shortly.

Oh, and the title. I had to, I'm sorry. Usually I have a working title then pick one for posting. "Lost" was the working and it just…fit the fic so I kept it.

Enjoy! And leave a review if it moves you.

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><p>"Faster," he muttered anxiously and turned again in the seat looking out the back window.<p>

"This is faster," she hissed back and followed the hard right of the road at a speed that was just this side of inadvisable considering the snow-slicked roads - it had been lightly snowing for the few hours before they had escaped.

"Can't you use some of those fancy Secret Service driving tricks?" he asked, eyes still focused behind them.

"You wanna drive?" she snapped back. "Cause I would be more than happy to pull over."

A sharp retort was on his lips when a set of headlights appeared behind them, approaching fast.

"Shit, they found us."

Riley pressed on the accelerator a little harder.

The op was supposed to be a quick in and out, pose as arms buyers, get into the Russians camp, download all they could from their computers and get out. But it had all gone quickly sideways and that morning they had been made, Gabriel knocked unconscious before they were both tossed into a van, driving for what Riley had deemed to be a full day and due west. They were on the western side of Canada now, where she wasn't exactly sure.

When the van had stopped near a small cabin in the middle of dense woods she knew they were dead. Gabriel had come to several minutes before they'd stopped and shook his head, indicating to her he had no way to communicate with Cyber Com, no satellites were in range.

As they had been lead to the house, Riley went on the offensive, head butting her captor right in the nose. The man had cried out and released her long enough for Riley to turn and bring a knee up into his chest, essentially knocking the wind out of him. Gabriel had just as efficiently dispatched his captor and they had bolted toward an SUV, but not before he had scooped up their travel bag from the ground where it had fallen.

They still had no way of contacting Cyber Com, but that wasn't the critical problem at the moment. The critical problem was the F-250 swiftly catching up with them.

Just as she navigated the next turn, the truck caught up, bumping the back of the SUV – hard.

Riley struggled to maintain control, which wasn't easy considering they were on a two lane road on the side of a damn mountain. Again she pressed the accelerator, officially going far too fast for her comfort, but there really wasn't another option. After fighting their way out, she figured they'd had maybe a ten minute head start. And with the fresh snow on the ground, that ten minutes was quickly lost.

The truck backed off and she heard a distinct "uh-oh" coming from her partner just seconds before they were rammed again…this time harder than before. Riley gripped the steering wheel, her knuckles going white as she attempted to keep the vehicle from careening over the side.

"Riley," he whispered.

"I know, I know," she responded equally quietly. There was nowhere for them to go, no town for miles, no exit off the road. They were trapped and without a satellite or cell tower anywhere near, his chip was useless. They were on their own.

For the third time the truck rammed them, this time maintaining contact, and pushing them right toward the guardrail that kept vehicles on the road instead going over the cliff.

Riley let out a strangled cry as the SUV was forced through the rail and for a moment there was complete weightlessness. And then they crashed hard into the side of the small mountain – jarring her entire body violently – but the car somehow remained upright as they barreled down through a forest. For a moment she thought everything would be ok, and then the SUV sideswiped a tree, turned ninety degrees and started rolling side over side down the rest of the way.

She was only vaguely aware of Gabriel yelling her name, his hand on her arm, intense pain and finally…nothing.

* * *

><p>Everything hurt.<p>

Literally every part of her body ached, but there seemed to be a particularly sharp pain on her left side.

And for a moment Riley couldn't remember why that would be. Then it came rushing back and she snapped her eyes open, only to find herself upside down in the SUV, hanging by her seatbelt - and now she knew why her head hurt.

"Gabriel," she hissed and looked to her right. He was gone. She tried to lean over and get a better look around all the debris that had come flying through the busted windshield but that damn pain her side stopped her. Again she hissed, only this time in pain and tried to figure out how the hell she was going to get out of the seatbelt when her partners face appeared in her window – or at least what was left of the window.

"You're awake…good, that's gonna make getting you out a lot easier." Pulling his knife out of his boot, Gabriel waved it at her seatbelt before handing it over. "Make it quick."

"Are you ok?" she asked while cutting through the nylon and heard a vague reply of "fine" from outside. As it gave way she fell to the top (now the bottom) of the car and the pain in her side went from bearable to excruciating. So she was no longer hanging upside down, but based on the pain radiating from her side, getting out of the car was going to be challenging.

Steeling herself, Riley ignored the pain as best she could, took a deep breath and wiggled out of the now dented car frame. As soon as she emerged, Gabriel was picking her up, worry etched across his face. "Are you ok?"

"I…I think so." The pain in her side had eased a bit when she stood and she took that as a good sign. "You?" she asked and looked him up and down, aside from a few scrapes and bruises on his face he looked fine.

"Good, surprisingly no damage."

Glancing up she got a good look at their ride down, and breathed an impressed, "wow".

"Indeed," Gabriel replied, his eyes following her up. "Seventy four yards. We should be dead."

"Really, really dead. Have you contacted Cyber Com yet?"

Something dark crossed his face. "I can't…no satellite in the vicinity. Apparently this part of Canada isn't a high value area."

"You don't say," she said, sarcasm clear which earned her a small smile.

"And there are no land lines to tap into out here in the woods."

Riley sighed; turned out going down the hill was the easy part.

"Ok, we gotta get away from the car," he said and disappeared to the trunk, pulling out their collective go bag through the obliterated window. It wasn't large but had a change of clothes for each of them along with a basic medical kit.

"Why?"

"Because it's about to go up in flames. Hopefully Morin's buddies will assume we went up with the car and the flames will dissuade close inspection for our bodies."

Somewhat alarmed, Riley took several steps back from the vehicle – only to realize the relief she had felt from the pain was only temporary. It came surging back, more agonizing than before and accompanied by a sudden dimming of her vision.

"Riley?" Gabriel called, but it sounded distant, muddled.

Something was very, very wrong.

Riley felt herself fall to her knees, and wrapped an arm around her side protectively as she went, it felt like she was in a dream, the edges of her vision were fuzzy, movements slow. Then she was aware of an all too familiar, sticky warmth on her side.

Oh, no.

Suddenly Gabriel was squatting in front of her, tipping her head up to look at him. "Riley…what's wrong?"

"My side…I think…I think I'm bleeding."

"You're…what?" he started and then reached out, unzipping the parka she had been wearing.

All she heard was "oh, God."

As soon as the coat pulled away from her body Gabriel let an involuntary "oh, God" slip. Her entire left side was coated in blood, it stained her shirt, the top of her jeans and the inside nylon of the coat.

Reaching out to her again, Gabriel carefully pulled up her Henley to reveal a laceration five inches long starting from her hipbone and going up – gaping and bleeding profusely. How the outside of her coat hadn't been damaged was a mystery, whatever it was must have come up underneath. Maybe a tree branch, or piece of the car as it had broken apart around them.

He pulled the overnight bag off his body and rifled around in it before finding one of his tank tops, which he pressed against the wound, eliciting a small cry from his partner. Then he took her right hand and pressed it gently to the material. "Hold this; we need to get you away from the car."

When she nodded, Gabriel carefully slung her left arm around his shoulder and half carried, half walked her a hundred yards away, sitting and propping her up against a thick tree trunk. "Right back," he said and jogged back to the SUV.

Using the chip he set off the electronics, which were flooded with gas from the ruptured fuel tank, and the whole thing exploded spectacularly.

He watched the flames for a moment, confirming they would consume the entire car before returning to Riley, who was still propped up again the tree, looking pale and tired.

Gabriel kneeled in front of her. "Riley," he said. "Riley, we have to go."

"Go where?"

"Pretty sure I saw a couple cabins about two miles east of here…right before we went sailing off that cliff."

"They'll track us." Her voice was slow and slurred, which alarmed him.

"It's starting to snow again, that should cover our tracks nicely and hopefully they don't come looking…if they do, it's a defensible position - probably. Right now we need to get you somewhere we can treat that wound."

Nodding her agreement, Riley started to stand, but immediately Gabriel was at her side, wrapping her arm around his shoulder, his around her waist carefully. Her other hand remained firm holding the tank top to the wound.

And they started moving at a slow, but steady pace.

After thirty minutes, Gabriel wasn't sure they were going to make it. The snow was coming down harder, it was nearly blizzard conditions. Which, while that would keep their pursuers off their trail, it also made getting to the cabins that much more difficult. Adding to his stress was the fact that Riley was just barely hanging on, as each quarter mile went by she leaned on him a little harder. Quickly he went back to the mental map he'd had of the area and realized they were maybe a half mile from the small grouping of cabins.

"Riley?"

No response.

"Riley…"

Again nothing and he stopped walking.

"Riley Marie Neal," he forced out in his best approximation of a parent tone.

"I told you not to call me that," she mumbled, her head lolling against his shoulder.

"You had me worried there, partner."

She snorted. "Conserving energy there, Vaughn."

"Half mile…can you make it?"

"Yup," she replied and started moving forward so he was forced to follow. Mentally Gabriel admired the toughness of his partner, even injured she kept going.

It was another twenty minutes and they came to the front of one small cabin. Which was good because the cold was finally starting to seep into his bones. It only took a moment for him to get the door open and Riley inside and lying on the couch. He took a quick look around, the place was fairly clean though a quick flip of the nearest switch revealed the electricity had been turned off, and he made a note to look for a generator once Riley was taken care of. The cabin was small, the kitchen, eating area and living room all at the front in an open concept, a large stone fireplace took up much of the wall the couch was facing to his left – there didn't appear to be a bedroom, but instead an open loft that looked over the living room. Despite the instinct not to, he flung open the heavy curtains that covered large windows on either side of the fireplace, without electricity he needed the light.

Then he knelt beside Riley and helped strip off her coat before pulling away his blood-soaked tank, exposing the wound more thoroughly to him. She had barely made a sound.

It was worse than he thought. Blood was still flowing freely from it, the edges ragged and gaping.

Swiftly he pulled the med bag out of the larger nylon one he had been carrying and catalogued the contents. It might be enough. There were abdominal pads, gauze, tape, antibiotic cream, latex gloves, ice packs, Motrin and needle and thread. And to his great relief a Tri-Pak of azithromycin, an antibiotic.

Removing his tank fully he replaced it with a thick abdominal pad, again placing her hand over it to hold in place. Since lying her on the couch Riley hadn't even opened an eye, instead lying stock still and silent. Desperately he tried to get a satellite signal again but was unsuccessful.

Then he set about the cabin, looking for anything else he could use, eventually he turned up a small medical kit under the kitchen sink with more gauze, antibiotic cream, tape and alcohol pads along with a stack of kitchen towels and some tequila.

Swiftly he dumped all the supplies on the coffee table and perched on the edge, quickly organizing what he needed.

"Please," he muttered and pulled the abdominal pad away from her side. The bleeding had finally slowed and he took a relieved breath. If a major artery had been nicked she would be still be bleeding. Gabriel knew just enough about field med to sew up a wound (though it wouldn't look pretty afterward), but not enough to clamp off and sew closed a bleeding artery.

Carefully he placed the pad back and placed a hand on her shoulder to wake her. "Riley…c'mon you gotta take something before I start sewing you up."

Slowly her eyes opened and focused on him; he took the opportunity and picked up three Motrin and a bottle of water, holding both out to her. With effort she grabbed the items, downing the pills quickly.

"I've got tequila too."

She shook her head. "Get it over with already."

Nodding he turned back to his makeshift surgical tray and sterilized the needle before threading it.

"Sorry, Riley," he said and, using his right hand, cleaned the skin around the wound before piercing it with the needle.

This caused her to suddenly cry out and try to shift away from him.

Luckily he had anticipated this response and had placed his right hand on her abdomen, pressing down and keeping her fairly still.

"Riley, you gotta hold still."

A rather colorful response was mumbled but she relaxed under him.

"Sure you don't want the tequila?" he asked, trying to keep his tone light.

"Just do it already," she hissed as he pulled the thread through the skin. "God dammit."

"I'll be as careful as I can," he said, tone softer.

Her head turned toward him and brown met green. "I know, I trust you Gabriel."

Quickly he averted his eyes and wordlessly went back to sewing his partner back together, focusing on the task instead of the feelings her words stirred up in his heart.

Giving her credit, Riley stayed still, and conscious, through most of the nearly forty minutes it took him to close the wound to his satisfaction. Only during the last half dozen stitches did she finally succumb to the pain and close her eyes, breath evening as she passed out.

Once done, he slathered gauze with antibiotic ointment and taped it carefully over his handiwork. For a brief moment he admired the stitches, he had really taken his time, trying to ensure even edges so the scarring would be minimized.

But as he pulled down her still bloody shirt (he would worry about changing it later), Gabriel took note of several other white lines that marred her pale skin. Two were clearly stab wounds – the incident with the Presidents children, perhaps? – one might have been a bullet, but it was almost too perfectly round. Without thinking, he reached out and traced the line closest to him, it ran from the outside of her hip toward her pelvis, slipping under the jeans she wore – frowning he realized it wasn't really a stab wound, more like a knife that had been run over the skin there, breaking it enough to leave a mark.

For a brief moment he wondered how many other scars she bore. And then a nauseating thought hit him.

How many were from her mother's boyfriend?

They never talked about it save for the brief period in the warehouse with Cong when she had admitted what exactly was in her juvie record.

Suddenly this felt way too personal and he finished pulling down the Henley – though not before placing a kitchen towel over the gauze to prevent blood from transferring from the shirt to the dressing – then covering her with a thick blanket that had been draped over the back of the couch.

Satisfied she would be out for a bit; he donned his coat again and trudged out into the bitter Canadian cold. Taking a look around, he was chagrined to note an attack would be difficult to spot, the woods were thick all around them and maybe a hundred yards to the south was a large lake. These were probably small hunting and fishing cabins. Hopefully with generators.

In the back behind some bushes and protected by a plastic box, he found what he needed. And paused, debating if turning on a generator would cause them to be noticed or not – it was a toss-up, lighting a fire in the fireplace would certainly send up a red flag. They would have to be careful and leave lights off if at all possible and besides Gabriel couldn't determine how much gas was left, if any. Primarily they needed it for the heat; otherwise they would freeze to death after so long. The nights in Canada in January were brutally cold.

Decision made, he went over to the generator and opened the cover. After a few tries he got the machine going, its low rumbling a sort of comfort that at least they (probably) wouldn't freeze to death.

As he walked back around (careful to erase his footsteps as he went), Gabriel tried communications through his chip. And once again was unsuccessful.

Their Russian friends had picked a spot that was extremely remote, with few inhabitants except probably in the summer months and was basically off the grid. He had no idea how often a satellite even flew over this part of the country. Once a day? Maybe twice? And for how long? He couldn't keep the chip running 24 hours a day; Doc Cassidy had warned him doing so would literally fry his brain.

They were due for a check in in 2 days. But the last Cyber Com had known they were on the Eastern side, near Toronto. By day three Lillian would be looking for them in earnest, so he hatched a plan that would probably result in frying his brain but there wasn't a choice if he wanted to get Riley out of here alive.

Opening the cabin door, he noted she hadn't moved while he'd been gone. Absently he walked over and touched her forehead. Still cool.

If he didn't get an antibiotic in her soon though that could quickly change; he was tempted to wake her long enough to take one but decided against it. She needed rest and right now was getting it.

Instead he turned the thermostat up as high as he dared for gas conservation (62 degrees) and started to take inventory of the kitchen.

* * *

><p>TBC…<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Meant to have up earlier, RL got in the way, but here it is! Thanks for the reviews, there are people out there! Hope you enjoy this one, it gets a bit...dark at the end and deals with an issue from Riley's past in a round about way, I hope it works the way I did it...

CHAPTER 2

The first thing she was aware of was being warm, uncomfortably so; groaning she tried to sit up but was stopped when pain ripped through her side.

For a brief moment, and for the second time in less than 8 hours, she had no idea where she was. The memory was hard to grasp but after a several moments of struggling the visual of walking through the snow with Gabriel, then being operated on, came back.

_Awesome,_ her brain supplied.

Pulling the stifling blankets off, Riley tried to sit up again, this time using her arms more than her abs and was somewhat successful, finally leaning back against the couch, practically out of breath.

Now she was able to get a good look at the cabin they were in, it appeared small but clean and warm. At that point she figured it was the best case scenario.

She looked out the windows, dusk was falling; they had run at about 10 that morning. Also still falling was snow. From the looks of it…a lot of snow.

"Gabriel?" she tried to call but it came out more as a groan. God, she was thirsty. Just as she was clearing her throat to try again the front door opened and she pivoted her head while reaching for a gun she knew wasn't there – Gabriel had taken it from her while they were walking.

"Easy, Thriller." It was her partner's smooth voice and she relaxed back into the couch.

"Told…you…not to…call me…that." She croaked out.

"Seemed appropriate given the day we're having," he said and sat on the coffee table in front of her, eyeing her critically. "How's the pain."

"I've…had worse," she replied a little too forced and again he was reminded of the scars he'd seen.

"I'm sure," he muttered unhappily and touched her forehead, frowning. "Warm."

She cleared her throat. "Buried under a warm blanket…warm room."

"Or you've got a fever from infection. This room ain't that warm." He shot back and grabbed the package of antibiotics and bottle of water. "Take two now."

Quietly she complied, downing the pills. Riley wasn't dumb, she knew infection was her worst enemy.

Again he turned and picked up the bottle of Motrin. "And three of these."

Again she took the pills, the water soothing her throat.

"Any luck contacting Cyber Com?" she asked after several more slow drinks of water.

"Not yet."

"Ok, what are our options?"

"Fairly limited. No ride, a generator with an unknown amount of gas, blizzard conditions and enough food for about two weeks. Just came back from searching the other three cabins, those are mostly cleared out."

Riley was quiet a few minutes. "Two days till check in."

"Yep."

"I guess we wait until we miss the deadline."

"Yep. Only problem is they will be pointing the satellite on the wrong side of the country."

"Shit," she muttered and took another drink.

"Pretty much."

"Plan B?"

"Working on it. Right now it's making sure you don't get worse."

"Any idea how far the nearest town is?"

"That's not the Russian compound? Unknown. Over rough terrain that probably requires a 4x4 to traverse. Walking out isn't an option."

"Wow, awesome."

He just grinned at her. "Looks like we're stuck together, partner."

Riley didn't respond to that. Because he was the first person she'd want to be stuck with. It had been the honest truth that Gabriel Vaughn was the first man in a very long time that she'd truly trusted.

Suddenly he got up and went over to the duffle bag, rifling through it before pulling out a tank top and t-shirt she'd packed along with a pair of navy blue yoga pants with the presidential seal on them.

"You should get out of those bloody clothes."

She knew what that meant - he was going to have to help her. The day continued to bare gifts.

Gabriel watched as something flitted across her face before she nodded.

This was going to be awkward, they both knew it. As close as they were (closer than they should be really), she had never gotten undressed in front of him. And now he was going to have to help her.

"Now or wait until the Motrin kicks in?"

"Now," she muttered and pushed the rest of the blanket off her feet.

"Might as well check the dressing while we're at it."

She nodded and slowly sat up while gripping the arm of the couch. Almost immediately Riley realized the problem, it would be challenging to get changed while on the couch.

Using the arm she stood up unsteadily, Gabriel closing the last couple feet between them quickly while admonishing her. "What are you doing? Sit down!"

She gripped the steady arm that was held out to her. "Easier this way."

He wasn't pleased but had to admit she was right.

"You good?" he asked as she straightened up and released him.

"Yep," she said confidently at first but a sudden bout of dizziness had her wobbling dangerously and she idly wondered how much blood she had lost while walking through the woods. Or, worse yet, if she was bleeding internally.

"Stop, just…stop" he sighed and indicated his shoulders. "Hands here."

"I'm not an invalid!" she protested but followed his instruction nonetheless, her hands resting on his shoulders, fingers digging ever so slightly into the skin. She was also now sweating from this minimal physical exertion. Not good.

"No, but you'll pull stitches trying to do that. Just hold still."

Abruptly his fingers were at the bottom of her shirt, pulling it slowly up and eventually over her head then carefully off her arms while she let go of him one hand at a time. As soon as the material was gone awkwardness fell over them.

There had been a little spark of something between them from their first meeting. Though they had studiously ignored it and managed to create a friendship that went deeper than most. But now she was standing in front of him without a shirt, injured and vulnerable. And vulnerable was one word he would never use to describe Riley Neal.

He cleared his throat and looked down at the bandage, taking longer than was really necessary to inspect it.

There was some blood on the white gauze, but not a lot and at this point he was inclined to not expose the wound. Reaching out, he pressed down a corner where the tape hand started to pull away and let his fingers linger along her smooth skin.

"Uh, looks good," he said then frowned, wrapping his hand on the skin above her ribs; she damn near jumped from the coldness of his hand. "But you're still warm even out from under those blankets, I don't like that."

"If it's an infection the antibiotic will kick in soon," she said.

He nodded without enthusiasm and reached down, grabbing the tank top from the table. Together they got the tank and t-shirt on with little effort. Then they both paused, unsure how to handle the second part.

"You uh…you wanna leave the jeans on?"

She really, really didn't want too; but the waist was far too close to the wound, when she sat up the edge rubbed against the dressing. But she also really didn't relish the idea of her partner stripping her pants off.

In the end comfort won.

"No, not really."

Frowning, she one handedly removed her belt then unbuttoned and unzipped her pants. When she went to remove them, however, a low hiss escaped as pain shot up her side. There was no chance of her doing this herself.

_Of course._

"Let me help," Gabriel said in a businesslike tone, clearly trying to relieve the tension and grabbed hold of the denim, pushing it down her legs slowly, crouching down as he did so – Riley still balancing on his shoulders. Once the material bunched below her knees he carefully lifted one leg at a time to remove the jeans.

For a brief moment they froze, each studiously not looking at the other. It was awkward. Moreso somehow than removing her shirt.

Then, as if shaken out of a stupor, Gabriel grabbed her yoga pants and started to slip the material over her still outstretched foot, his hand on the back of her shin.

And God dammit, she physically shuddered at the feeling of his warm hand on her.

He must have felt it because he paused before pulling the rest of the cotton onto her leg.

Then he shifted and picked up her other shin (this time she managed to repress the shudder) and repeated the motion - so the pants were puddled at the bottom of her legs.

He tried to keep his gaze locked on the pants as he pulled them up her legs but unfortunately they wandered to the smooth, pale skin of her thighs.

Riley Neal was a beautiful woman, that fact had not escaped his notice. But there was something about seeing skin that was typically completely covered that had his head spinning just a little bit. For a second he wondered what the skin of her thighs would feel like and if he would ever get the chance to run his fingers along it.

Then his eyes landed on another scar on her left thigh just above her knee, similar to the ones on her abdomen - definitely a stab wound. Again he went to touch it, but this time he stopped his hand before it made contact. His brain admonished him; inappropriate didn't even begin to cover what he had been about to do.

He finished pulling the pants up, rising to stand directly in front of her as he did.

They stared at each other, the tension between them like a living thing. Yeah, it had been completely awkward to have her partner un- and then re-dress her but at the same time it was intimate and Riley felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.

"Hungry?" he finally asked.

The sudden change seemed to startle her and she shook her head. "Um, not really."

"You need to eat something."

She relented; he was right if nothing else she needed to try and eating would certainly change their focus and dissipate the tension between them. "Ok, what are our options?" she asked as they moved slowly into the small kitchen space, Riley keeping one hand on a piece of furniture or Gabriel as she went.

"Rice, beans, canned veggies and fruit…and that's about it."

"I'm guessing there's not a steak in the freezer."

"Nope."

"Rice and beans it is, I guess."

While he started cooking (thankfully on a gas stove that was on the generator), Riley leaned against the counter tiredly, watching. It always amazed her that the man was capable of cooking…really cooking not just making a meal.

"Need help?" she asked as the boil in a bag rice was dropped into the heated water.

"Nope, don't need you pulling anything."

"I'm not going to pull something cooking. I need to move around a little to keep from stiffening up."

He turned to her and raised one eyebrow. "Most people wouldn't pull something, _you_ might."

"Haha," she muttered. Then, after several minutes of silence, "So…what's the plan?"

"What plan?"

"Oh, I don't know. The plan to get out of here. You said you were working on one."

He glanced back at her before turning back to the stove. "Still working on it."

Riley narrowed her eyes at him. "No, you aren't. You have a plan but for some reason you don't want to tell me. What is it?"

Gabriel turned back to the stove and pulled the rice packet out just as the microwave dinged indicating the beans were warm.

"_Gabriel_."

"Well, the problem is we don't know when satellites are in range. The only way to catch one is to scan for them all the time." He stated simply while mixing the rice and beans in two bowls, adding some spices he'd found.

"That means _you_ would have to scan for it all the time…" she said slowly as the realization hit her. "No way, you'll fry your brain doing that. Cassidy said you need downtime to keep from getting overloaded. That's not a plan, Gabriel."

"It's all we've got, Riley."

"It can't be…"

"We can't count on Lilian finding us. And I've been checking for a satellite every half hour; it'll take days, weeks maybe to get communications at that rate. The generator and food supplies won't last that long." And he handed her the bowl of food, which she took gratefully. "And most importantly you need real medical attention."

She shook her head. "No, you are not frying your brain for me."

"Riley…_"_

"Gabriel…"

They both smiled slightly and quietly ate standing in the kitchen, knowing they were at an impasse. The argument would be revisited again later anyway, no point in arguing now.

After she finished, Riley gingerly walked to the sink and washed her bowl, leaving it to dry. Then she turned to her partner who had also headed to the sink for the same purpose.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "For…everything. You saved my ass."

"Hey, we're partners, right? That's what partners do."

She smiled and said firmly, "We'll figure out a different way."

He nodded. "Ok…" But didn't believe for one second that there was another way. Unless by some miracle he happened to catch a satellite in the next day or two.

She moved out of the way and headed back toward the couch after grabbing a bottle of water Gabriel had found off the counter, even that little bit of activity had worn her out and caused an ache in her side.

As she settled in, lying on her good side, Gabriel came around the couch and perched, once again on the coffee table.

Without asking he reached a hand out and touched her forehead. Still warm.

"Toasty?" she asked.

"Yeah, but without a thermometer I can't tell if it's better or worse."

She shrugged and covered her legs with the blanket, she was cold. Not that she would tell him that, Gabriel was worried enough, no reason to add to it when she knew the antibiotic would most likely take care of the infection. She chose not to dwell on the idea it might not or that she was slowly bleeding internally. Nope, best to keep that to herself, or risk him doing something really foolish to get her out of here.

"I think tonight we should turn down the heat a little more, conserve gas. Really don't want to have to get that fire going. That said I'm going to prep the fireplace just in case we need it last second."

She nodded and yawned. "Agreed. Need help?"

"Not from you. I got it."

While she watched he inspected the flue, piled a couple of logs into the fireplace, stuffed some newspaper under them and set some matches close to the pile. Then he wandered down the short hall and turned down the temperature to a chilly but sufficient 55 degrees.

Upon returning back to the living room, he grabbed two blankets off a small pile in the corner and covered her with one.

Her eyes were closed but he could tell she wasn't quite sleeping yet; her breathing hadn't yet evened out.

Carefully he reached out and pushed some hair off her face, letting his fingers push between the strands and gently rub her scalp in a soothing motion – she moaned happily at the touch so he continued. At that moment he couldn't bring himself to care about protocols and getting too close to her. It was already far too late for that, he _was_ too emotionally close to her – had been for a long time. At least since she had risked her career for him after he'd been shot. Maybe before that even - the second run in with Jin Cong? Where his brain had been rewired to distrust her but his heart knew that wasn't right, that he actually trusted her with his life, his soul even. Turned out his heart had been right.

No, not then…when she had been captured in Mexico by the cartel with the Senator's daughter. After she'd put her gun down on the hood of their SUV and been forced into the other vehicle an unexpected anger had flowed through him. Quickly followed by panic then determination and even then Gabriel had known he would have moved heaven and earth to get her back.

After several minutes of massaging her scalp Gabriel noted his partner was sleeping so he reluctantly pulled his hand away, heading toward the door.

Pulling back on his coat and boots, Gabriel turned off one of the two lights the generator ran in the cabin and trudged outside to give the surrounding area a quick look. Satisfied they were alone except for the wildlife; he went back in the cabin, locked and then secured the door with a kitchen chair.

Returning to the living room, he checked Riley once more, confirmed she was sleeping and appeared comfortable and sunk into the chair next to the couch, his gun now on the end table next to him, closing his eyes as well.

_The white snow was stained with deep red blood. They were still in the woods, walking again…walking still, they had been walking forever it seemed. The blood was dripping from her side, faster and faster._

_The cabin should have been right here. But it wasn't and now he had dragged his gravely injured partner through two miles of Canadian wilderness to…nothing._

_He'd killed her. Just as much as the Russians had._

_He stopped, she'd been silent for far too long. _

"_Riley?" Panic flowed through him. "Riley!"_

_There was no answer. The blood dripped faster. _

_He carefully dropped to the ground, sliding her head into his lap. _

_The second he saw her face, eyes wide and glassy, lips blue and not from the cold. _

_She was gone._

_Riley was gone and it was his fault. His partner, his friend. His…everything._

"_No!" he screamed and clutched her closer to him. "Noooo!"_

"No!" he yelled into the dark cabin and sat up straight in the chair, momentarily confused by his surroundings. On the couch Riley shifted, grunting slightly as she did, clearly his outburst hadn't really disturbed her.

Closer…he needed to be closer to her; he slid down and moved to sit on the floor in front of the couch by her hip. Carefully he reached up and covered her warm hand with his, his thumb slowly stroking her skin.

She _was_ his everything.

And occasionally the idea that one day she could die for him was overwhelming; it caused his heart to constrict. He could remember a time before her, after he'd had the chip implanted but he didn't want to go back to that. Not to disparage the Cassidy's, they were his friend and pseudo father, but they were also vested in the chip in his head. And then she had come along and reminded him that the tech wasn't all he was. He was still _human_ and normal in every other way; she didn't treat him differently except those times that her job description required it – and more than once she chastised him for believing all his actions were chip-related. She grounded him.

Sighing, he leaned back on the couch, his head just touching her thigh. And fell asleep.

She woke sore, but feeling better than she had the day before. And with a weight on her leg.

Looking down she found Gabriel sitting on the floor, leaning back against the couch, eyes closed, mouth open in sleep. His head was resting on her thigh. It was not an unpleasant sight. And the why he was on the floor near her and not in a chair was one she chose not to explore.

Absently her hand reached out and stroked his sleep-spiked hair. It was soft under her fingers and she smoothed down the unruly strands.

Riley didn't like this one bit…being unable to protect him, it was an odd feeling to have him look after her. Sure, she'd been injured before, but there was always someone else to watch her client. Not this time. It was just them. The positive in this situation was she knew that of all her clients he was the one best equipped to protect them both.

Riley didn't want to disturb him, but she had to pee really, really bad.

"Gabriel," she whispered, trying not to startle him. It didn't work, he slept on. So she moved her hand from his head and tapped his shoulder. "Gabriel."

His head snapped up while her name fell from his lips, "Riley…"

She grinned broadly at him. "Morning, sunshine. Bathroom break."

He looked around blearily and Riley felt bad for waking him, clearly he needed more sleep. "What time is it?" he asked.

She consulted her watch. "Five am…sun should be up in a couple hours."

"Yeah, ok," he muttered and ran his hands across his face before slowly standing (sleeping on the floor was a _bad_ idea if the aches in his body were any indication). The cabin was still mostly dark, the light from the single lamp just made it into the kitchen and partway down the hall.

He held out a hand to her.

Slowly Riley got out from under the blanket and took the offered hand, standing up. Once at full height he put his other hand on her forehead.

"Cool," he said and visibly relaxed with the knowledge the fever had broken.

"I ah, I assume there's a bathroom."

"Yeah, down the hall."

Nodding, Riley gingerly moved down the hall and found the bathroom, using her cell phone light to lead the way, Gabriel watching her every move. She looked better today; her color had improved and while she was obviously stiff, was moving with greater ease. A little of the stress he'd been feeling melted away.

Searching cabinets again, he came across two high powered flashlights, and a couple of battery powered candles. Their cell phones would crap out soon; the chargers were in the now burnt out hull of the car.

Using one of the flashlights, he started looking around again. Maybe the owners had cell chargers around here, most used the same micro plug. All the while he searched for a satellite signal with the chip.

As he swung back into the kitchen from searching the small lowboy next to the table, Riley came back down the hall.

"Anything?" she asked.

"Nope. No satellite yet. But I'm going to keep it open for a while."

"Gabriel…" she warned.

"Are we going to start that again?" he asked with a grin.

She gave him a sharp look but moved on. "Breakfast?" She was starving and took that as a good sign.

"Canned peaches, pears or oranges?" he asked and opened the cupboard.

"Excellent…" she muttered. "Peaches I guess."

With flourish he pulled down two cans and opened them, handing her one with a fork.

They moved into the living room, Riley sitting carefully on the couch, Gabriel taking the same chair he'd started in the night before.

They ate in silence a while.

"If we can't contact Cyber Com soon you're going to have to hike out," she finally said.

He was silent.

"It's the only option we have," she said more sternly.

"It's not."

"No, you are not leaving the chip open. You'll fry what little brain you have left." She tried to lighten her tone.

"Yeah, well, I'm not leaving you here alone."

For a moment they stared at each other. Silently they agreed to shelve the argument; it was one they would certainly have later anyway when the issue became critical.

Gabriel finished his peaches and drank the liquid left, grimacing as he did. It wasn't tasty but it was fluid. Then he got up and grabbed the medical kit and antibiotics.

By the time he got back she was also finished.

"Lie down," he said and she raised an amused eyebrow at him. "We need to check the wound."

Riley complied, lying down on the couch and he took his usual perch on the table.

With significantly less pain, she pulled up her shirt to reveal the mostly clean bandage.

Carefully Gabriel peeled the tape back, pulling off the gauze. "Looks good," he said and Riley shifted to get a look herself.

The edges weren't doctor perfect, but the wound itself was oozing appropriately blood tinged, antibiotic cream colored mucus, and instead of an angry red it was more a subdued shade. On top of that it was already starting to scab over at the very ends where it wasn't as deep.

Slathering more cream on it, Gabriel cringed just a bit; this one would certainly leave a jagged scar. Then he grabbed more gauze and tape, covering the wound again. As he taped the edges down, Gabriel let his fingers linger just a bit on her skin. Absently he touched the scar he had found the day before, the one just above her hip bone.

And she twitched, which pulled him out of whatever fog he had been in to even attempt to let his hands wander over her. Again.

"Sorry…I shouldn't have," he muttered and pulled away so she could pull her shirt down.

"It's ok," she said and slowly sat back up, without assistance.

Silently he handed her the bottle of water she'd abandoned the night before and four pills – one antibiotic, three Motrin.

Equally silently she swallowed the pills and finished the water, her eyes never leaving his. The room was oddly charged now with the unsaid conversation about the scars that he had now clearly seen.

"You certainly have taken some hits in the line of duty," he said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

It didn't work, her eyes darkened then shifted away from him and she muttered with a clear sarcastic undertone, "Yeah, line of duty..."

And then Gabriel knew that his earlier suspicions were correct, some of the damage had been caused by her mother's boyfriend. Anger boiled in him, anger for her and what had happened. It must have shown on his face because suddenly her hand was on his arm.

"It's ok."

"No, it's not," he grumbled and stood abruptly, going to the kitchen to throw out the old gauze and her peach can.

She watched him out of the corner of her eye, a little unsure. He was angry, that was clear and her heart softened a bit. While Riley had long since accepted the scars and their origins, Gabriel was only now realizing what had happened that lead to her committing manslaughter. Or maybe he was only now acknowledging what he suspected.

"It was a long time ago," she ventured, which didn't seem to help his mood.

"It shouldn't have happened in the first place." The anger was still there and Riley was surprised at how much this was bothering him. No one had ever been angry _for _her. She'd been on the receiving end of sadness, pity, even encouragement that she had done the "right thing" but _never _outrage on her behalf.

"Gabriel…" she started in calm voice.

"I saw the other scars, Riley. How many of those were from him?" He'd come around again, to sit on the table facing her, their knees almost touching.

She debated not answering but shrugged and said, "Enough."

"How many have faded over the years?"

At that she let out a pained laugh. "Enough."

"Jesus…how could your mother let that go on?"

"She had her own problems," Riley said with a dismissive shrug.

It was fury now in his eyes, absolute, unadulterated fury. "No, Riley. That's not how…not how it works! She was supposed to protect you, not the other way around. You were a child."

Now she was getting inexplicably angry as well – but not at Gabriel, at _him_ – the person who deserved her anger the most, but wasn't here to take it. So she vented at the man in front of her, the one she trusted with so much, she one she felt comfortable with.

"Well, you know what? It _was _how it worked. She was weak and vulnerable and _he_ took advantage of her…of us. And she let him because she didn't want him to leave like my father did. So instead she took the abuse, and didn't stop him when he inevitably turned on my brother and I. She sat back and was probably happy it wasn't just her he was beating on. Until I couldn't take it anymore and fixed it!"

Gabriel leaned over and asked softy, "Where was your father?"

"Three states away with a new wife," she said with a humorous laugh. "We rarely visited and on the off chance we did _he_ was careful not to hit us before the trip. Not that Dad cared all that much, wife number two kept him busy enough."

There was a long silence, then she said something that absolutely chilled his blood. "I look a lot like my mother, you know. Same hair color, complexion, same…eyes. I was tall even then, looked older than I was."

It would take months for her to really dissect why she decided that was the moment to admit her worst secret, one she had held close to the vest. One that wasn't even in the juvie records, because at the time she had been unwilling to admit how far the abuse had gone. For a long time Riley thought it was her fault he'd decided to come to her at night; that she must have done or said something to make him think it was ok. Eventually she realized she'd done nothing, but by then the damage had been done and the only way out she could think of involved _his_ own .38. So when the police came, Riley didn't see the need to bring up somethingthat she couldn't prove in the first place and would, she thought, only make things worse. So she'd pushed it down, pretended it didn't happen, and for the longest time, never spoke of it.

Eventually, during her sophomore year at college she'd started acting out, hanging with the wrong people, drinking a lot, sleeping with too many men, probably in an effort to just forget but it had backfired horrifically. Instead she dreamt of him every night, often waking up screaming. It was when her grades started to suffer that her adviser had forced a meeting and she'd agreed to counseling.

The college's in house psychiatrist had been her savior, and the first person she'd told the whole story to. She'd helped Riley work through her anger at her mother and her boyfriend. By the end of the semester she was focused, a major in criminal justice was set and Riley had thrown herself into school, determined to protect people the way no one had done for her. Eventually the secret service had come calling and she was protecting the President.

And she never spoke of it again until that moment, when the last twenty-four hours, her exhaustion and absolute trust in her partner had worked together to wear down her defenses and she'd finally confided in him.

Instantly there was rage on his face, directed at a long-dead man.

Gabriel's hand came up and cupped her cheek, thumb brushing away tears Riley didn't even realize were flowing down her face. Pulling away from him, she vigorously wiped at her face, almost angrily removing the tears.

He was staring at her with this expression she couldn't quite discern.

"I…I shouldn't have…I'm sorry," she stammered, almost trying to take it back as what she had revealed really sunk in.

His face fell and his hand moved to the nape of her neck fingers kneading the tight muscles. "Don't apologize, Riley. Just…don't. You have nothing to apologize for. What he did to you…" Gabriel's voice cracked and he gently pulled her into him, their foreheads almost touching now. "You were a child and he abused you. If you hadn't already done the job, I would kill him myself." What Gabriel failed to mention was that if he ever met her mother he would be tempted to do the same.

She made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "Where were you fifteen years ago?"

"I wish I was there Riley, I wish I could make it all go away," he said earnestly and moved to sit on her right on the couch, leaning back and pulling her with him so her back was pressed against his chest, his left arm loosely wrapped around her shoulders.

Silence fell between them as Gabriel began slowly stroking her right arm; it was a calming and welcoming gesture.

"I shouldn't have just…dumped that on you now. I am sorry for that. My timing is…impeccable."

"Are we partners, or what?" he asked.

She shifted slightly in his arms and nodded. "We are. I think it's safe to say we're friends."

Suddenly the full weight of her trust in him sunk in; she had told him that he was a man she trusted more than any other. At the time it seemed like an oddly phrased compliment, but now…with the context behind it, it meant so, so much more. So he wrapped both arms around her and squeezed gently while burying his nose in her hair, kissing the crown of her head.

As the sun started to come over the horizon, the rays of light streaming in through the gaps in the curtains, she spoke again. "I wasn't a child."

Gabriel had been drifting out a little bit, content with her in his arms, so his response was a less-than-ideal, "Huh?"

"When it started, I wasn't a child. I was fourteen."

_When it started. When it God damn _started_. _

He almost couldn't choke out the words, but a part of him needed to at least ask, even if she didn't answer. "How often…"

For a second Gabriel would have sworn she snuggled in tighter to him.

"It was…sporadic. Typically when she was passed out drunk and he was…well, you know."

Gabriel closed his eyes tightly against the pain that welled inside him for a teenage Riley, forced to endure what she had.

"Riley," he whispered and buried his face in her hair. "You didn't report it to the police, did you?"

"No, I didn't…I didn't see the point. He was dead," she pushed out.

A sudden thought occurred to him. "Have you ever told anyone? Your Mom? Brother?"

She shook her head. "I finally talked to a therapist while at college; I was starting to…go off the rails a little bit. She…saved me really, got me talking then focused on the next steps."

"Bad test taker," he mumbled; she would have still been struggling with what had happened during college entrance exams.

She turned her face into his chest and felt a kiss drop onto the top of her head. For once in her life she was the one being protected and a small part of her enjoyed it, much to her own surprise.

He started talking again, voice low. "I'm sorry, Riley….so, so sorry." It was insanely frustrating for him, having this knowledge but being completely unable to act on it, to make it right.

"You don't have to be sorry," she said and looked up at him, their faces mere inches apart. And in her eyes he saw fear, which surprised him. "I just…I don't want you to think of me any differently."

"Riley…I could never think differently of you. Ever. What happened, it wasn't your fault you didn't do anything for him to…" Gabriel paused, unable to actually say the word; the images that had been going through his mind were bad enough. "I am…in awe of you."

As he'd spoken, Gabriel's hand had come up and cupped her jaw gently, thumb stroking her cheek. Then, "You are the strongest person I know."

Her green eyes had remained locked on his the entire time, never wavering. The urge to close the few inches between them was overwhelming but Gabriel wouldn't allow himself – if Riley wanted to push their relationship there he would make it her call.

For a second her gaze flitted down to his lips then back up to his eyes.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only twenty seconds at the most, Riley reached up slowly, closing the space.

Soft lips met his, very tentatively; it was the merest brush of a kiss. A test maybe, to see if he would reciprocate.

As she started to pull back and their eyes met, Gabriel's hand slipped to the back of her neck, anchoring her and this time he closed the barely-there gap between them, eyes closed again, his lips moving leisurely against hers as if they had all the time in the world.

It didn't take long before the kisses started to get heated and Gabriel eased back, not wanting to get carried away right now. It was enough to know there was the potential for something more between them."

Eventually she pulled away, panting slightly, her expression a little unsure. After a moment she spoke, "I feel like I should apologize but I won't."

His head tilted quizzically. "Why would you apologize?"

"Cardinal rule, Gabriel. You don't get personally involved with clients."

An expression of hurt crossed his face, but Riley could see the smile behind it. "Is that all I am to you? A client? I thought we were partners."

"Seems like we may be more than partners," she said then got a far away look.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing, just something the DNI said to me when you were accused of murder."

Now he frowned. "What did that self-serving jackass say?"

"Said that when Lillian was considering hiring me he was concerned I would become emotionally involved with you, that I would be compromised."

His fingers that had been on her neck found their way deeper into her hair and started gently rubbing her scalp. "Hmmm…well, I guess he was half right," he said thoughtfully before quickly adding, "Not about the compromised part, of course."

By then Riley had dropped her head back to the crook of his arm, the top of her head just brushing his jaw. So the mumbled "of course" was directed into his chest.

"We are getting out of here, both of us. Together," he said and kissed the top of her head again. In response she draped her arm across his waist and shifted slightly, trying to relieve pressure on the wound.

"Do we need to move?" he asked while covering them both with a blanket.

She merely shook her head and somehow snuggled closer to him. Gabriel could honestly say he didn't peg Riley as a cuddler, but there she was, pressed into his side arm around him.

Even though they had just gotten up, with Riley's warm body against his, the room still mostly dark and his fingers still rhythmically moving through her hair, it was easy to slip into a light sleep.

Tbc…


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I played fast and loose with how the chip works. I hope it works for you guys. Again, thank you for the reviews, they are appreciated! This is the last chapter, readers, I hope you enjoy.

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><p>CHAPTER 3<p>

Static. Quiet a first. Then louder. Much louder.

Then voices.

Gabriel grumbled sleepily and pulled Riley closer to him – she'd clearly dozed off not long after he had.

"_Blackbird…" _

It was faraway sounding and slightly muddled. For a minute he thought it was a dream.

"_Blackbird this is the nest."_

His eyes snapped open and he just barely stopped himself from dumping his still sleeping partner to the floor in surprise as he sat up. It wasn't a dream; it was coming from the chip.

Blackbird was his call sign from CDOC. It was a ridiculous name bestowed upon him by Nelson after the elder Cassidy had insisted on having a "call sign" in the event they needed to contact him over general airwaves that anyone could listen into, it kept his identity secret. Gabriel had agreed only because he figured they would never have to actually use it.

"_Blackbird…if you can hear us, satellite will be over this location in two minutes, re-establish communication as usual."_

"Riley," he whispered quickly and jostled her as much as he dared - they'd been found.

Riley was awake, looking at him confused. "What…"

"They found us. Cybercom found us…"

"How?" she asked.

"FM station that the chip can pick up even when I'm not using it-" he started to explain but stopped as soon as his chip connected to the satellite hovering tens of thousands of miles over their heads. "Got em!"

Without earwigs he would have to communicate with CDOC through the chip, a sort of instant message system that had been set up. He could "see" the message they sent and respond by mentally typing his own message.

"_We are locking in on your location, ex-fil in approximately…thirty minutes. What's your status, Gabriel?"_

"_Riley was injured, significant blood loss. Laceration to abdomen – treated, no longer bleeding. Experienced fever, which has broken. Will need extraction to hospital. I've sustained bruises and superficial cuts."_

"_Head injury?"_

"_Negative."_

"_We will notify ex-fil that you require transport to hospital."_

"_Acknowledged."_

"_Prepare for pick up."_

"_Nice to hear from you,"_ Gabriel responded. _"Was starting to debate a nice stroll across the wilderness."_

Instead of the retort he expected Gabriel was met with silence. Riley was looking at him expectantly, he merely held up a finger, indicating for her to wait a second – which she acknowledged with a nod.

"_CDOC?" _he sent.

"_Hold, Gabriel. We have movement on your east side…Confirmed. Eight hostiles with automatic weapons, 3 clicks east on snowmobiles. ETA fifteen minutes. Get out."_

"_ETA for chopper?" _He replied.

"_Thirty. Clearing 1 click to your northeast."_

Gabriel looked at Riley, who was still clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt – not exactly winter wear. She was in no condition to run either, but they had no choice, staying in the cabin was suicide. Eight men with automatics would turn the place to Swiss cheese and them along with it.

"What?" she finally asked, her patience running out. "Gabriel, what is going on?"

"Get your shoes, coat, gun and phone. Leave everything else."

"What?"

"We gotta go, our friends have found us and ex fil is a half hour away. We need to find somewhere else to hide a while."

"_Confirmed." _He replied back to CDOC. _"We will be at the extraction point in 20 minutes. The chopper better be there."_

"_Do our best."_

To her credit, Riley didn't ask a single question, instead she moved as quickly as she could, pulling on her coat with relative ease and collecting her gun and near-dead phone. But as she approached her boots, Gabriel watched her pause before reaching down with a grimace.

Aware of their dwindling time he moved toward her and picked up the boots, indicating for her to sit in the chair by the door. In no time he had them on and bottom of the sweatpants tucked into the bottom in an attempt to at least keep the cold from finding its way up her legs.

"Thanks," she mumbled as she stood, somewhat shakily. "Gabriel, you should just go-"

He grabbed her upper arms. "Not without you."

"I'm going to slow you down."

"Then stop your yapping and let's go," he said firmly and pulled on his own shoes and coat – his gun and phone already secured. "Twenty minutes, that's all we need. Northeast, one click. I can get into satellite data now; see our friends and the rendezvous point. We'll take the scenic route."

With that he opened the door, only to come face to face with a blizzard.

"Good news, the snow will slow them down and obscure our footprints," he said dryly and grabbed her hand, pulling them into the swirling snow.

They'd taken off into the densest part of the forest, if their would-be assassins were going to follow, they'd have to do it on foot. As fast as he dared, Gabriel led them between barren tree trunks and tall bushes, slowly but deliberately working his way in a northeast direction. The snowfall was not as heavy here; the trees provided some protection – even without leaves. It wasn't long, however, before they heard significant gunfire behind them at the cabin. Then a long silence as they kept moving, taking a circuitous route to the clearing.

Quickly he checked the satellite feed. The Russians had abandoned the cabin, found their trail into the woods and were already following. At an alarming rate. As expected, when they disappeared into the forest, the pursuer's images on the satellite feed all but disappeared, only occasionally showing up as they passed through less dense areas.

Gabriel gripped her hand a little harder and picked up the pace but he could tell Riley was already struggling, her footsteps were erratic, uncoordinated even and her breathing was labored.

"They're in the woods already, moving fast."

She nodded but said nothing.

They had spent some of their time backtracking and trying to erase footprints in an effort to buy time, but at this point Gabriel wasn't sure it was going to be all that effective. What they needed was the damn ex fil team.

_CDOC, when can we expect the chopper?_

_Fifteen minutes Gabriel._

Deciding he would rather be where backup was arriving, Gabriel started leading them toward their destination. As they made the turn toward north, gun fire peppered the air around them. Gabriel pushed her behind a large tree – her back against bark, covering her body with his. Once there was a break in the shooting he ventured a look behind them.

Nothing. Nothing but an indistinguishable mass of white snow and brown trees. The satellite was useless, he knew generally where he and Riley were based on how fast they had been walking and the direction they'd been headed – using the clearing as a reference point. But with the dense cover, he couldn't actually _see_ their heat signatures through the forest – which meant he couldn't see the Russians either.

Just as he was about to give up there was a movement about fifty yards to his left, shifting from left to right. "Gotcha," he muttered and pulled his gun from its holster, pointing it in the general direction of the movement.

When the mass moved again Gabriel fired only once, but knew he'd at least grazed the guy based on the way he'd snapped back violently before disappearing from view.

"Let's go," he whispered and they took off again toward the clearing.

More gunfire sounded all around them and the bark on a tree at Gabriel's eye level went flying toward him. They made a quick right for the safety of a few small trees huddled together but when several bullets started shredding their protection the partners took off again, Riley firing several shots back as cover.

As they ran, Riley felt pain radiating again from her side. Stitches had pulled, she was sure of it, but she wasn't about to tell Gabriel if she could avoid it, she needed to get him to the chopper first, then worry about herself. _His _safety was paramount.

Blood was slowly starting to seep down her side; she could feel the warm, sticky substance against her skin. They were so close, ten minutes and rescue would be here. Taking a breath, Riley blocked out the pain and disturbing warmth on her side, pressing forward.

For a few minutes they jogged in silence and then another bullet took a chunk out of a tree by her head and she ducked instinctively. The second shot sent in her direction, unfortunately, did not miss.

She felt the bullet penetrate her left thigh and cried out, the force sending her sprawling to the forest floor, face down in the soft snow. Turning her head, she sputtered and coughed, which sent agonizing pain through her entire body.

Vaguely she heard Gabriel yell her name before falling to the ground at her side, his hands instantly on her body, helping her to roll over.

It was that moment she knew it was over; there was no way she was going to make it to the clearing for rescue. The pain was excruciating, and now there was blood flowing from her leg as well as her side. Riley wasn't getting up off the forest floor.

"Go," she hissed.

"No," he said stubbornly and stripped his coat off, balling it up and placing it under her head as he looked around nervously, clearly wondering where their pursuers were. Satisfied he had a minute, Gabriel performed quick first aid, yanking off his belt and wrapping it tightly around her upper thigh while whispering, "I'm sorry".

As the leather bit into her skin the pain caused her vision to darken a moment and she cried out just a little before stopping herself – she couldn't afford to draw attention to their location.

The blood was quickly staining the snow red around her, fast enough that Gabriel was all but certain the bullet had nicked an artery.

"You have to go," she whispered and reached up, gently cupping his cheek. "I-…my side is bleeding too."

Tears welled in his eyes. "I'm not leaving you, Riley."

A pained smile graced her face. "You have to."

"I won't," his voice cracked as he spoke. "I will not leave you here to bleed to death."

She ignored him. "They'll be here any second. Eight against one…bad odds. I can't get up, I won't make it…we both know that, Gabriel. Please…go. For me."

He swallowed hard and placed his forehead on hers. "I'm coming back for you. Hang in there, partner. For me."

She nodded and he pressed the weapon, which had slipped out of her hand when she'd fallen, back in her left hand. "Just in case."

Gabriel started to stand but quickly returned to her, kissing her deeply.

A shot was fired in their direction and Gabriel stood again, dashing off in the direction of the clearing.

Riley ventured a look at her leg, the bleeding continued, though it seemed at a slower pace. She really didn't want to die like this. Cold, in the middle of a god damn forest, slowly bleeding out. And alone. It was the right thing to do, making Gabriel leave, but it didn't make it hurt any less. In that moment all she wanted was him by her side, whispering false hope, telling her it would be alright when they both knew it wouldn't.

A tear escaped, she felt the warmth against her freezing cheek. That's when she realized she really didn't feel anything else. There was no pain; her torso was no longer cold. And she was so very tired. It would be so easy to just close her eyes and give in but part of her willed herself not to do so. It was the same part that was certain he would come back for her. So she laid quietly, listening to the sounds of the forest, trying to focus on anything but the blood she could feel dripping down her leg.

An indeterminate amount of time later there was rustling in the woods by her feet and Riley lifted her head just enough to see a man clad in all white approaching, gun held up, sweeping the area. For a moment she thought he did not see her lying on the ground, and then his eyes locked on hers, a feral grin spreading across his face.

She tried, really tried to lift the gun Gabriel had left her but her arm felt like lead. Maybe it would be better if he just ended it now, then at least it would be over.

No…no, she couldn't do that, Riley Neal didn't give up. So once again she attempted to raise the gun, but was met with nausea and pain radiating from her side. For a moment she almost laughed that now she felt pain again.

Then her world went black.

* * *

><p>He ran faster than he ever had in his life, vaulting fallen trees like a man possessed. And in a way he was, desperate to save his partner. She couldn't leave him now. No, he wouldn't allow it.<p>

_Riley. Riley's down. They shot her, she's two hundred yards west, alone. HURRY UP._

_Team will be there in 2 minutes._

Gabriel burst into the clearing, panting hard.

"Come on," he hissed under his breath. "Come on…"

His eyes moved between the tree line and the sky, wondering who exactly was going to get to him first.

* * *

><p>She was drowning. It was hard to breathe and she couldn't see anything, everything was dark. And it was cold, so cold. She tried to move but her body was not cooperating, her limbs like lead. She couldn't make any sense of what was going on and she tried to grip onto the last thing she remembered which was being with Gabriel in the cabin but that didn't seem right.<p>

There was something else.

But before she could retrieve the memory she slipped back into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>Now there was beeping. Regular, annoying beeping. But the feeling of drowning had lifted. She tried to open her eyes but the blinding light had her snapping them shut just as quickly. So Riley focused on what she could, the beeping, the scratchy blanket covering her (but oh, she was delightfully warm now), the dull ache of pain in her side and…leg?<p>

Oh…

It was coming back. Lying on the forest floor, waiting to die, someone standing over her with a gun…

But she was alive.

And in the hospital.

_Gabriel!_

Where was he? Did he make it out as well? Again she opened her eyes, more slowly this time, pleased when the world finally started to come into focus again – however slowly.

That's when she became aware of weight on her left hand. It took great effort, but she was able to turn her head to that side, relieved to see Gabriel slumped, sleeping, in a small leather recliner. His arm was extended across the space between them, hand on hers, fingers curled gently around it.

She tried to say his name but all that came out was a croaked "Gab-" before her voice gave out. Dear God, her throat hurt.

Taking her eyes off her partner, Riley tried to get some sense of time, but at that point all she could tell was it was early morning. Probably.

Jesus, how long had she been out?

Suddenly the hand wrapped around hers squeezed and a tentative "Riley?" came from him.

She turned back and gave him a small smile. "Hey par-" again her voice abandoned her and Riley sighed in frustration.

"Hang on…just, hang on" he said and stood quickly with a smile, stepping out of the room for several minutes before returning with a nurse in tow.

"Ms Neal, nice to see you awake at last," the woman said. The nurse was Riley's age, tall with honey blonde hair and a wide smile. Her name tag read Abby. "Gabriel, she can have ice only. There's a machine at the end of the hall."

Then Abby went about taking vitals, adjusting something on the monitors next to the bed and taking notes.

Riley was now panicked and she looked at Gabriel, face showing confusion. She knew he could read the question on her face. Clearly she had been in this bed long enough for the nurse to know Gabriel by name. But _how long?_

"Four days, Riley. You've been out for four days. We were starting to wonder if you were ever coming back." There was anguish all over his face; he had been terrified of the idea that she would just slip away after…whatever had happened to even get her to the hospital.

Riley was shocked, it had been nearly a week since the day in the forest?

"I'm going to get you some ice chips, and then we can talk, ok?"

She nodded dumbly, unsure what to even say. What could she really? Riley watched as Gabriel headed out the door, staring at the now empty space until the nurse spoke again.

"Everything looks good Ms Neal. I'll notify your doctor that you are awake, he'll come in and speak to you."

Again she nodded, assuming Abby would leave as well but instead the nurse lingered a moment.

"He's been here every day, only leaves for a few hours at night and occasionally during the day for short stretches. That's a good man you've got there."

Now she managed a tight smile. Yes, he was. Riley knew that two weeks into their partnership but it was really driven home at that cabin and when she revealed what her mother's boyfriend had done to her.

The nurse smiled at her before leaving, passing Gabriel in the doorway. Her partner was holding a large, non-descript brown cup holding the ice and she realized how thirsty she was.

Settling back into the chair, Gabriel looked at her tentatively as if trying to gauge something before handing her the cup, which she took with a shaky hand. Determined, but slowly, she managed to get two into her mouth and gratefully sucked on them. It was heaven on her throat.

"How bout I fill you in and then you can ask questions."

She nodded agreement, unsure if her voice even worked yet.

"Let's start here…You're at Georgetown." Her eyebrows rose in confusion. "Initially you were sent to a trauma unit in Vancouver, they stabilized you and once we were sure you'd make the trip, Lilian had you transferred here. By all rights you should be dead Riley. By the time we got you to Vancouver you'd lost 3 units of blood and were still bleeding. The bullet just got the artery in your leg."

With the ice melted and her throat no longer feeling like the Sahara, Riley tried to speak again. "How…how did you get me out?"

"Well, that's a story."

She merely looked at him.

* * *

><p><em>Gabriel stood in the clearing, alone. No chopper yet. Certain he looked like a giant damn target, he slipped back to the tree line and hunched down, his eyes constantly scanning the area around him. Anxiety had settled deep in his gut, Riley was in those woods, bleeding to death and he was here…sitting on his ass, waiting. It was not right, the urge to turn back was overwhelming but he stood his ground, knowing she would be better off if he returned with backup.<em>

_She was a strong woman, the strongest he knew. She would make it, she had to._

_Noise behind him alerted Gabriel to the fact the Russians had indeed found him first. He tried to make as small a target of himself as he could, gun raised toward the sound. The longer he could go undetected the better._

One minute, Gabriel.

Acknowledged. Hostiles twenty feet to the west of my position.

Acknowledged.

_One minute, he just had to wait one more minute. So Gabriel pressed himself farther into the tree he was hiding behind. His time came to a swift end, however, when the Russian came into his view and locked eyes with him._

_Without hesitation, Gabriel put two in the man's chest, and he dropped – aware that doing so now alerted the others to his location._

_Almost instantly gunfire erupted around him and Gabriel covered his head as the bark around him exploded in his direction._

_When there was a pause he blindly returned fire, pulling back when a bullet just grazed his upper arm._

_Again there was gunfire, but this time it came from behind him and Gabriel turned to see the ex-fil chopper slowly descending into the clearing, a Marine hanging off the side, firing into the woods. Quickly he ducked, knowing his presence in the fight would only make it harder for them._

_After several long moments of gunfire there was suddenly silence from the woods and the chopper made contact with the snowy ground._

_Three Marines jumped off, guns raised, eyes scanning. The one in the lead approached him quickly. "Let's go."_

"_We have to get my partner."_

"_Our instructions were to ensure your return."_

_In the back of his mind, Gabriel had already expected this. The order was to rescue him, not Riley and if Riley wasn't here, well…that just meant she wasn't coming home. Though he knew if it was Riley standing here they would certainly go to find him (or his body at least) - can't leave billions of dollars lying around in the Canadian wilderness._

_Which meant he was prepared to fight back._

"_I don't care what your orders are, Marine. My partner is bleeding out in those woods; we are going to get her. Now."_

"_Sir-"_

"_NO!" he shouted and the other two men whose eyes had been scanning the woods for more threats paused and looked at him. "No man left behind, Marine. I am not leaving her. Let's go."_

_As he turned back to the woods Gabriel heard the team following him, clearly they realized he wasn't getting on the chopper if she wasn't._

_As Gabriel approached Riley's location, he saw a man in a white coat standing over her, the same man he had shot earlier if the tear in the coat and blood dripping from his wrist was any indication. As he pointed his weapon at Riley, Gabriel didn't hesitate in shooting first, putting three center mass and dropping the man for good. _

_Instantly he had rushed over to her – falling to the ground at her head. It had been maybe five minutes since he had left her side but already there was significantly more blood staining the snow and her eyes were closed, lips starting to turn blue – from the cold or blood loss he couldn't be sure._

"_Riley," he whispered and reached out one hand to touch her hand, only to find it ice cold as well._

_The Marines had followed him, one (Walters his tag read) kneeling at her hip to assess the leg wound while the other two kept watch on the woods around them._

"_Status!" Johnson, the lead Marine, barked after several silent minutes._

_Without looking up he responded in crisp, doctor tone, clearly he was the medic of the group. "She's still breathing, erratic and shallow, I'd estimate down 2 units. Appears to be a through and through. Hanging on by a thread I'd say."_

"_Can we move her?" Johnson asked, eyes never leaving the tree line._

_The medic seemed to consider the tourniquet Gabriel had fashioned then pulled out a small medical kit from…somewhere. In under a minute, the entrance and exit wounds had been dressed, another tourniquet applied and the bleeding finally seemed to slow. _

"_We can now."_

_Gabriel surged forward and carefully picked up his partner bridal style, her head hanging limply over his arm. He tried not to think too hard about what would happen if she died, instead he focused on the small steps. Getting her into the helicopter, then to a hospital. The rest would hopefully work itself out later._

* * *

><p>"Dammit Gabriel," she all but hissed, her voice returning with fury. "You should have left me there, that was…foolish."<p>

He looked shocked. "There was no way in hell I was leaving you out there to bleed to death, Riley. No chance. Partners don't leave each other behind. Would you have left me out there?"

"No, but you have billions of dollars in your head, I don't…"

"That's bull, Riley!" he all but yelled, frustrated that she would so easily throw her life away for him. Not after everything. His voice softened. "You and I both know I couldn't leave you out there. Not now…not ever, probably. You are not disposable to me."

"I know…" she whispered back and reached out carefully, gripping his hand.

Gabriel moved closer to the bed, reaching over the railing to push his free fingers through her hair as she turned to him. "Look, partner, I think we've been in deep with each other longer than we want to admit and it hasn't changed anything."

"Yet," she countered.

"Ever," he responded with a grin. "You know, maybe this conversation is better left for when you are out of here."

"Agreed," she said then looked around anxiously, the pain in her side and leg were both tolerable, she had dealt with worse. "And when will I be getting out of here?"

Gabriel shook his head. "When the doctors clear you and not a minute before. Which considering you just woke up from a self-imposed 4 day nap, might be a bit yet."

Riley grumbled and set her head back on the pillow.

* * *

><p>A week later the doctors declared her fit enough to leave, armed with painkillers she had no intention of using and crutches that she was unfortunately forced to. When they had (predictably) mentioned having someone at home would be helpful for recovery since she needed to stay off her feet Gabriel had immediately spoken up and assured them someone would be there.<p>

Opening the door to her apartment for the first time in nearly three weeks Riley felt an immense sense of relief. Yes, she was stuck here for a while on doctors' orders, but it was better than a small cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Gabriel helped her navigate to the couch, elevating her wounded leg on the coffee table before disappearing into her bedroom to drop her bag.

As soon as she sat, Riley wanted a nap, which thoroughly annoyed her. It must have shown on her face because Gabriel questioned her upon his return to the room.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"Nothing…" she started but the look on his face had her sighing. "Fine…I want a nap."

He shrugged. "Then take a nap."

"I don't _nap_, Gabriel," she said with a terse tone and looked at him like he'd gone mad.

"Yeah? Well you've been laid up in the hospital for almost two weeks and lost nearly half your blood volume. So I think you can make an exception."

There was no response and Gabriel sat on the couch next to her. "You've been injured before, what did you do then?"

"I was never confined to my apartment before, I was always up and walking around in a day or so. This is…frustrating for me."

"Well you aren't walking far until PT starts next week-"

"Thanks for the reminder," she grumbled.

Gabriel framed her face with his hands, forcing her to look at him. "You're alive, Riley. You're alive when by all rights you shouldn't be. Take some time, ok? I'll be here with you."

She nodded and he leaned in tentatively, just brushing their noses. When she tilted her head he took that as a go ahead and closed the distance between them, kissing her deeply, putting as much emotion behind it as he could. She responded in kind, pushing her fingers through his hair before resting them at the base of his neck.

When they finally pulled apart, Gabriel grinned. "I could really get used to that."

She smiled almost shyly. "Me too."

"Well, you're stuck with me for a while. Lillian has me at 'on call' status but pretty much said they wouldn't call unless it was end of the world stuff. So I'll be here with you…if you want that is."

"Well, you sorta promised the doctor someone would stay with me-"

"I could call Jameson."

"Don't you dare," she said with a smile. "I want you here."

"Good," he said and gently guided her to leaning on the back of the couch, one arm wrapped around her shoulders. "Cause I'm not leaving."

"Good," she choked out and then was silent for several minutes. "Gabriel, about us…"

"What about us?"

"Is this a good idea? I mean…the last time I got involved it ended…poorly."

He shifted and let out a noise that sounded like he was contemplating, then, "I think it's worth it. I think you are worth it. And I think that's all that matters right now."

"Wow…sappy much?" she asked with a wide grin.

"Hilarious Neal. You asked."

"I know and…agreed."

They settled into the couch, her head tucked into his shoulder – a very familiar position - and just as Riley was starting to drift off he spoke again.

"By the way, the plastic surgeon guy said I did an excellent job on your stitches. Would've scarred for sure but excellent nonetheless."

"Good to know," she responded sleepily.

Carefully he pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and covered her with it. "Night, Riley."

"Night Gabriel." It was mumbled and not long after the words were spoken she drifted off into sleep.

Content once again with her in his arms Gabriel did the same, secure that when they woke it would be a whole new world for them both.

THE END


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